Purpose: Management of large impacted upper ureteral calculi remains challenging for urologists. These calculi are frequently associated with obstructive uropathy and deteriorated renal fun...

Transitional cell carcinoma is the most common upper urinary tract cancer in Taiwanese patients on dialysis. It is a unique finding compared with Western countries. Unfortunately, the long-term outcomes of patients with upper urinary tract transitional cell carcinoma on dialysis are largely unknown. This study presents clinical outcome of patients on dialysis with upper urinary tract transitional cell carcinoma. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of all patients with upper urinary tract transitional cell carcinoma who had end stage renal disease and underwent dialysis. Traditional prognostic factors including age, sex, tumor grade, stage and tumor location were analyzed with respect to disease recurrence and survival. A total of 73 patients were included in this study. The major complaints were painless gross hematuria and urethral bloody discharge. Disease relapsed in 40 (54.8%) patients at average time of 15 months (2 to 92). Univariate analysis failed to identify significant prognostic factors for recurrence. The average duration between primary and contralateral metachronous upper urinary tract transitional cell carcinoma recurrence was 36 months (range 5 to 96). Patients on dialysis with upper urinary tract transitional cell carcinoma who had previous or concurrent bladder tumor, or who had a history of recurrent bladder tumor, had high contralateral upper urinary tract transitional cell carcinoma recurrence. (p = 0.038) The statistically significant prognostic factor for disease-free survival was pT stage (p = 0.041). Patients on dialysis with painless gross hematuria or bloody urethral discharge must undergo detail urinary system evaluation. Since patients with upper urinary tract transitional cell carcinoma on dialysis have a high recurrence rate and metachronous or even multiple, early synchronous tumor characteristics that may be missed by imaging, total urinary tract exenteration is a recommended therapeutic option.

To determine the possibility of finding motile spermatozoa and spermatids in patients with high serum follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and spermatogenetic disorders proven by pathology, 100 cases of male infertility were reviewed. Of these, 71 patients were found to have non-obstructive azoospermia or severe primary spermatogenetic disorders, and 20 had obstructive azoospermia. A prospective study of the most recent 51 cases was conducted. Multiple testicular tissue biopsies were examined by a pathologist and a well-trained gynaecological technician. The findings of spermatozoa, spermatids and serum FSH concentrations were compared among six different histological groups. It was concluded that 51.2% of the non-obstructive azoo-spermic and failed spermatogenetic patients had spermatids and even motile ‘shaking’ spermatozoa and should be re-evaluated. In the non-obstructive azoospermic patients here, almost all the motile spermatozoa and spermatids were found in patients with a serum FSH concentration of <30 mIU/ml. It is suggested that a testicular biopsy should be conducted in every case of non-obstructive azoospermia and spermatogenetic disorder, even in those patients with elevated serum FSH concentrations.